Leaves as bedding

[rosemarythyme]

I'm curious. Has anyone ever seen this with leaves? I've been using leaves for 5-6 years and never seen it. The chickens do too much scratching around for it to be a problem.

If you add too many leaves and then get a good amount of rain, it can mat. Even with the birds scratching they might not get down to the lower layers if it's thick enough. I can build up maybe 4-6" of leaves in the run through fall, so I do need to turn it over once in a while to loosen up the layers. It needs to aerate to break down well.

 

[TooCheep]

If you add too many leaves and then get a good amount of rain, it can mat. Even with the birds scratching they might not get down to the lower layers if it's thick enough. I can build up maybe 4-6" of leaves in the run through fall, so I do need to turn it over once in a while to loosen up the layers. It needs to aerate to break down well.

Okay. Mine are shielded on the windward side, so they don't get the full effect of the wind and rain. They do get some water, but I guess that is enough to avoid that problem.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Shredding the leaves with the mower helps too, as it breaks them up enough to avoid matting.

I did a LOT of mowing this afternoon. Leaves are about 2 feet thick in a good chunk of the run. More to do tomorrow, and leaves still in the trees.

Today was scouting for food, so after picking up food, we helped sort it at the food pantry. I saved aside some stuff for the chickens, and that got mixed in with the leaves to help "motivate" their scratching.

Plenty more for them tomorrow that will get added as a reward for working hard in the leaf piles.

The only problem is that here in the northeast, it's been crazy dry. Burn bans all over, small brush fires almost every day...very unusual for this time of year. After an afternoon of mowing and dumping leaves, the water in the show ran black for a good five minutes.

 

[RiDaGeckoGuy]

Well all those leaves most likely are washed away, but I kinda can’t go outside and check because it’s absolutely pouring

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Well all those leaves most likely are washed away, but I kinda can’t go outside and check because it’s absolutely pouringView attachment 3979363

Hope the worst of it misses you!!!!

I'd take some of that rain off your hands if I could.

 

[RiDaGeckoGuy]

Hope the worst of it misses you!!!!

I'd take some of that rain off your hands if I could.

Hasn’t rained all fall and then boom, it got super windy for a week and now it’s storming, when the wind started it blew a side off my run and all 22 of my chickens escaped

 

[RiDaGeckoGuy]

Well 3 are free range and of the 19 in the coop 14 are chickens and 5 are guineas

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Hasn’t rained all fall and then boom, it got super windy for a week and now it’s storming, when the wind started it blew a side off my run and all 22 of my chickens escaped

Very good chances they will come back.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Yikes, hope you weather the storm OK. The dry for months then big rain is nasty...I'm sure there will be plenty of flooding and erosion, as the dry soil just can't take the moisture.

On the bright side, I'm sure all that wind is knocking MORE leaves off the trees for you!

 

[RiDaGeckoGuy]

Very good chances they will come back.

That was last week and I got every single one back in the coop and I fixed it, even my highly aggressive rooster let me pick him up. My biggest worry was 4 adult roosters out when 3 are best friends and so my non free range coop rooster would be outnumbered, and the three free range ones also hate my two juvenile roosters that are half their size. Like I said it was a week of wind and now it’s a week of rain